


After the war

by VolunteerFieryDantooinian



Category: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Genre: Agrajag - Freeform, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, CPR, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Fix-it fic, Fluff, M/M, Post-Mostly Harmless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 04:37:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6785491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolunteerFieryDantooinian/pseuds/VolunteerFieryDantooinian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If that ugly bat fuck hurt Arthur Dent ever again, there would be hell to pay, Ford Prefect was sure of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the war

This is what the _Guide_ has to say on the subject of cardiopulmonary resuscitation:

_Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is a method of reviving some species across the galaxy. It is also a method of having an excuse to press your own mouth to someone else's, but that is typically not the goal. Often abbreviated as CPR, it can be used to restart the hearts of humans and get their lungs working again, and some other species, including Betelgeusians._

The _Guide_ then goes on to list the steps of performing CPR, and the methods that vary via species.

Ford Prefect had never bothered to read this entry, but now he was wishing he had.

What had happened was a blur. Random had disintegrated some poor man, and Trillian had pushed Arthur out of the way at the last second. He'd handed the Earthman the matchbox that had fallen from the dead man's pocket, asked him if it meant anything to him.

That was when it all went to shit. Arthur had gone pale, Ford had been laughing at the expression, but stopped the second the man had proceeded to falls forwards, motionless, brown eyes rolling up in his head.

Ford swore, catching him and checking his pulse. Nothing. _Fuck_ , he thought, and half-carried the Earthman to the bottom of the steps, laying him gently on the floor. He tilted Arthur's head back and pressed his lips to his, quickly blowing as much air as possible into his lungs and making sure his chest rose. Ford frantically began compressions, pushing hard on his friend's chest over and over. Then breaths again, then compressions, and the cycle went on and on. 

"Come on, Arthur, give me a damn sign. Don't do this to me, you _stupid_ earthman!" Ford brushed his friend's dark hair away from his forehead, and he pressed his lips to Arthur's firmly and gave him as much of his oxygen as he could, so much that he started feeling lightheaded. 

Nothing.

That was when he broke, tears streaming uncontrollably and soundlessly down his cheeks. He stared brokenly at the man lying on the ground, and at that moment, Ford couldn't breathe either. He didn't want to. "Goddamnit, you _fucking_.." His voice broke, and he vaguely recognized that Trillian was at his side, and she wasn't even crying, just staring at nothing. Zaphod gripped Ford's shoulder gently as the Betelgeusian sobbed his heart out.

Ford leaned across and wrapped his arms around his friend, gently cradling his body in his lap. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I _failed_ you, I _loved_ you."

At that moment, Arthur made a weak little noise and his eyelids fluttered open, and he instantly started coughing and retching painfully.

"D-did I hear that right?" He gasped softly once he could breathe again, and Ford made a weak noise of shock and slumped weakly into Arthur's arms. 

"Yes, oh, _zarking photons_ , yes you heard it right, you _idiot_." Ford gasped dizzily, grinning weakly over at Arthur Dent. Arthur grinned back.

"You saved me again,right?" He guessed correctly.

"Shut up." Ford made a soft noise and pressed his lips firmly to the Earthman's, running his hand down his friend's spine and a hand tangled in his dark hair. "I love you. There. I said it. Happy now, Dent?"

" _Hell_ yes."


End file.
